M62 eastbound reopens over 12 hours after crash and fire

National Highways: Yorkshire first announced at 4.35pm on Monday evening that there was a vehicle fire on the eastbound carriageway of the M62 between junction 29 (Lofthouse) and junction 30 (Methley Lanes). Traffic was stopped as a result, and lanes three and four on the westbound carriageway were also closed. A multi-vehicle crash was discovered at the scene and the eastbound carriageway was fully shut around 20 minutes later.

Footage in the aftermath showed a pile-up of five cars in one lane, with three of them looking to be severely burnt. Digital subscribers get full access to all our great content, free access to our online archives and see fewer adverts. Subscriptions start from just GBP1 a month.

For more details just use this QR code. It also showed several of the vehicles were badly damaged, and debris was littered across the carriageway.

West Yorkshire Police issued a statement at 4.41pm, warning drivers to avoid the M62 at junction 30 after the collision. Officers were called to the scene at 4.07pm to a report of a crash involving four vehicles. A spokesperson for the force said: "Emergency services attended the scene at which all parties were out of vehicles involved and in a safe location.

"No life-threatening injuries have been reported. "A motorway closure is in place on the eastbound carriageway, with a partial closure westbound also. "Drivers are urged to seek alternative routes while police and fire officers manage the scene."

Both sides of the motorway were closed at 5.26pm, with emergency services present, according to a spokesperson for National Highways: Yorkshire. At this stage, there were delays of 45 minutes on the eastbound carriageway and 30 minutes on the other side of the motorway, with congestion stretching back four miles on the former and three miles on the latter. Traffic caught up in the closure began to be turned around from the back of the queue around one-and-a-half hours later, while emergency services were still present.

West Yorkshire Police continued to urge drivers to avoid the area into the evening and announced that the eastbound carriageway was likely to be closed overnight "due to structural inspections required following the earlier incident". Recovery units then arrived within an hour, and the westbound carriageway was reopened at 8.24pm. But the eastbound side remained shut, with any remaining traffic caught in the closure exiting through lane one past the scene.

There were delays of less than 10 minutes on approach at this time.

National Highways: Yorkshire announced at 10.11pm that the eastbound carriageway would remain shut for emergency resurfacing works.

These continued overnight until the eastbound carriageway was reopened just before 5pm, with the works completed.